Righteous Deeds with the Same Reward as Hajj and ‘Umrah
There are several righteous deeds that may substitute for Hajj and ‘Umrah, for those who cannot afford to perform them. Some of these deeds are 1- 'Reciting Thikr after the five daily prayers: Abu Hurayrah narrated that a group of destitute people came to the Prophet, , and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, the wealthy people will have higher grades and will have permanent enjoyment in high levels in Paradise. They pray like us and fast as we do, but they have more money by which they perform the Hajj, ‘Umrah, participate in Jihaad and give in charity.”The Prophet, , replied:“Shall I not tell you something upon which if you acted you would catch up with those who have surpassed you? Nobody would surpass you and you would be better than the people amongst whom you live except those who would do the same. Say ‘Subhaan Allaah’, ‘Alhamdulillaah’ and ‘Allaahu Akbar’ thirty-three times each after every (compulsory) prayer.’" Al-BukhaariAbu Ad-Dardaa’ also narrated that they (the group of poor Muslims) said, “O Messenger of Allaah, the wealthy people will have higher grades and rewards. They (have money to) perform Hajj, but we cannot afford it, and they participate in Jihaad, but we cannot afford that either.”The Prophet, , replied: “Shall I not tell you about something, if you act upon it you would catch up with those who have surpassed you? Say ‘Subhaan Allaah’, ‘Alhamdulillaah’ and ‘Allaahu Akbar’ thirty-three times each after every (compulsory) prayer.” and An-Nasaa’iThis means that reciting this Thikr (words of remembrance of Allaah The Almighty) after each prayer substitutes for Hajj and ‘Umrahfor Muslims who cannot perform these acts of worship with a legitimate excuse under Sharee‘ah. They can come closer to their Lord by performing this righteous deed, which is the remembrance of Allaah The Almighty after the five daily prayers. 2- 'Performing the ‘Ishaa’ and Fajr prayers in congregation: Abu Tharr narrated that a group of the Companions came to the Prophet, , and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, the wealthy people will have higher grades and will have permanent enjoyment and they pray like us and fast as we do. They have more money, which they give in charity.”The Prophet, , replied:“Has Allaah not rendered for you the‘Ishaa’ prayer in congregation equal to Hajj, and the Fajr prayer in congregation equal to ‘Umrah?”MuslimOnce, Abu Hurayrah said to a man, “Going to the mosque early (before the time of the obligatory prayer) is dearer to me than our participation in Jihaad with the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayi wa sallam.”Undeniably, performing the obligatory acts of worship is better than performing voluntary acts of worship such as voluntaryHajj and ‘Umrah. The slaves can never come closer to their Lord with righteous deeds better than carrying out the obligatory acts of worship. Many people find it difficult to purify themselves their earnings from ill-gotten gains, and doubtful acts that may be forbidden, yet they find it very easy to spend their money on performingHajj and offering charity.Some of our righteous predecessors said, “Giving up a misdeed that Allaah The Exalted abhors is dearer to me than performing Hajj 500 times.” This means that abandoning sins and prohibitions takes precedence over performing obligatory acts of worship. Abandoning ill-gotten gains and seeking lawfully earned sustenance are among the greatest deeds with which man can come closer to his Lord. Al-Fudhayl ibn ‘Iyaadh highlighted another act of worship that is better than performing voluntary Hajj. He said, “There is no Hajj or Jihaad harder than controlling one’s tongue. If man assigned greater attention to his tongue and what it utters, he would be in great distress to what he says. Performing righteous deeds through the body is not what counts; what counts is the softness of the heart, its piety and purifying it from sins.” 3- Performing the Fajr prayer in congregation and staying in the mosque until sunrise to perform the Dhuha prayer: Another righteous deed that substitutes for Hajj and ‘Umrah is performing the Fajr prayer in congregation and staying in the mosque, reciting Thikr until sunrise to perform the Dhuha prayer. The Prophet, , said:“Whoever prays the Fajr in congregation, then sits remembering Allaah until the sun rises, then prays two Rak‘ahs, he will receive the rewards of performing complete Hajj and ‘Umrah - he repeated that thrice.”At-Tirmithi Saheeh 4- 'Attending the congregational prayers at the mosque and walking to the mosque to perform voluntary prayers: The Prophet, , said: “Whoever walks to perform an obligatory prayer in congregation, it is like Hajj terms of rewards, and whoever walks to perform a voluntary prayer, it is like a voluntary ‘Umrah terms of rewards.” Hasan Walking to the mosque to perform Sunnah prayers such as theDhuha prayer as mentioned in the version of Abu Daawood. Al-Munaawi said, “Whoever walks to mosque to perform an obligatory prayer should hurry. Whoever walks to perform an obligatory prayer in congregation, will be rewarded for his walking with equal rewards to those of performing Hajj and whoever walks to perform a voluntaryprayer, will receive the rewards of performing voluntary ‘Umrah, but not necessarily the exact equal.” 5- Performing prayers in Qubaa’ Mosque: The Prophet, , said: “He who purifies himself at his home and comes to Masijid Qubaa’ and prays therein will have the reward like that of ‘Umrah.” An-Nasaa’i and Al-Haakim SaheehIn addition, the Prophet, , said: “Prayer in the mosque of Qubaa’ is like ‘‘Umrah terms of rewards.” He, , also said: “Whoever goes to the mosque of the Banu ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf, the mosque of Qubaa’, with one intention that is to pray therein, will have a reward like that of ‘Umrah.”‘Aa’ishah bint Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqaas said, “I heard my father saying, ‘It is dearer to me to perform two Rak‘ahs in the Qubaa’ Mosque than visiting Al-Masijid Al-Aqsa twice. If people only knew the virtues of in the Qubaa’ Mosque, they would fight over it.’”Performing prayers in the Qubaa’ Mosque does not entail traveling specifically for that purpose. However, when the Muslim visits theMasjid of the Prophet, , it is an act of the Sunnah (Prophetic tradition) to visit the Qubaa’ Masjid, where Allaah The Exalted revealed to the Prophet, , the verse (what means): {Within it there are men who love to purify themselves; and Allaah loves those who purify themselves.} 9:108 The Prophet, , said: “Allaah is pleased with your purity, O people of Qubaa'.” 6- 'Attending the ‘Eed prayers (both ‘Eed Al-Adh-ha and ‘Eed Al-Fitr): Ibn Rajab narrated that the Companion Mikhnaf ibn Sulaym said, “The reward for attending ‘Eed Al-Fitr prayer is equal to the reward of performing ‘Umrah and the reward for attending ‘Eed Al-Adh-ha Prayer is equal to that of performing Hajj.”Ibn Rajab said, “A pious man saw a pilgrim who was heading towards Makkah. He said with eyes full of tears, ‘How weak I am! Let me follow your procession and I promise to be obedient to you as a slave.’ He took a deep breath and added, ‘This is the sorrow and heartbreak of a man who cannot go to the Ka’bah; how will the sorrow and heartbreak of the man who cannot reach the Lord of the Ka’bah be?’”Al-Haafith ibn Rajab said, “O brothers, if you were prevented from performing Hajj this year, turn inward and exercise self-restraint.”Al-Haafith ibn Rajab said, “O brothers, if you were prevented from performing Hajj this year, turn inward and exercise self-restraint.” If you are prevented from performing the Hajj rituals, you can still shed remorseful tears for your sins; this is like the shedding of blood i.e. when the sacrificial animal is being slaughtered. You should turn to your Lord with a humble and submissive heart full of fear and hope as the pilgrim stands in the Mashaa‘ir, (Holy places), or in the Mosque of Al-Khayf in Mina. A person who is far away from the Ka’bah should not draw himself further away from the mercy of his Lord by committing sins. The mercy of Allaah The Exalted is close to whoever turns to Him in repentance and submission. Whoever is unable to go to the Ka’bah to perform Hajj, should seek the Lord of theKa’bah. Allaah The Exalted is closer to man than his jugular vein. Whoever missed Hajj this year and was unable to stand at ‘Arafaat, should observe the rights of his Lord that he knows. Whoever is unable to spend the night in Muzdalifah should make up his mind and be determined to obey Allaah The Exalted and draw close to Him. Whoever could not stay in the Mosque of Al-Khayf in Mina can observe the rights of Allaah The Almighty with a heart full of fear and hope. Whoever could not slaughter the Hady (sacrificial animal) in Mina can slaughter the evil desires of his self that is inclined to evil. Thus, he can achieve his aspirations. Whoever could not go to the Ka’bah due to its distance can easily turn to the Lord of the Ka’bah. He is nearer to whoever implores Him than his jugular vein. If we could not go to these places, let us display our submission before our Lord here. If we could not stand at ‘Arafaat, let us rectify our past deeds and lives. If we could not touch the Black Stone, let us soften our harsh, stone-like hearts. If we could not spend the night at Mina, we can bury our sins and misdeeds wherever we are and make a fresh start. This is a day when Allaah The Exalted bestows His mercy upon honest and sincere people. If we did not turn to Allaah The Exalted in repentance on this day, when would we do so? If we did not respond to the call of our Lord on that day, when would we do so? How unfortunate is the man whose past sins have not been forgiven! Whenever such a man intends to do a good deed, he refrains from performing it. He fails to avail himself of the blessed spiritual seasons. He enters the gardens of success and prosperity, yet never stretches his hands to harvest the fruits. How many of us fear Allaah The Almighty, and how many of us have attained our aspirations and hopes? If we have missed out on the chance of being in Mina, let us shed our remorseful tears here. Why should we not cry when we do not know what is to become of us after this life? How can we stand still while we are unaware of our destination after death? We should shed our tears today for the sake of that day. If people tread on the path towards Allaah The Exalted and we stand still, and if they draw closer to Him while we are far away from Him, how can we feel certain we are not one of those whom Allaah The Almighty did not wish to motivate to participate in Jihaad, so He caused them to linger behind with those who would be of no use in a battle? How beautiful is the procession of pilgrims going to the Al-Masjid Al-Haraam! Their loving hearts yearn for Al-Masjid Al-Haraamand abound with fear of Allaah The Almighty and hope in Him. Those who see these people reaching their Lord while being deprived of this blessing should worry about their own state. He who sees the procession of pilgrims moving to Al-Masjid Al-Haraam while he is left behind should undoubtedly feel sad. Category:Hajj